1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a portable apparatus or device for therapeutically testing the hand, eye and cognitive identification and related skills of a patient or user, and to such a device having sliding and opening sections and compartments for such a use.
2. Background Information
Typical of the prior art references related to games and educational devices to test or bring about cognition, identification, sensory-motor skills, hand and eye therapy and coordination, speech and communication and hand therapy are U.S. Pat. Nos. to: Phelan (5,482,295); Langstroth (5,344,154); Kelly (5,288,075), Sigle (5,056,793); Jacobs (4,311,465); Stenstrom (4,163,559); Liversidge et al. (3,710,455); Flack (3,693,976); Johnson (Des. 361,621); Kroop (Des. 356,334); Moradinia (Des. 354,920); Logan (Des. 332,466); Shoptaugh (Des. 295,055); Wright (Des. 256,480); McAusland (Des. 255,588); Kroll (Des. 247,441); located during a patent search; and published material appearing in the Sammons Preston 1994 and 1996 Catalog, pages 115 ('94), 126 and 300 ('96), relating to Sidiki Transparent Writing/Activities Table and Programs and Activity Boards; Sammons Preston ABC Catalog 1996, page 44, relating to Sidiki Portable Transparent Writing table and Programs; Smith and Nephew Rolyan.RTM. Home Activity Simulator and Easel devices; Concepts ADL 1995 Catalog, page 53, relating to Manipulation Board, String Drawing Board and Activity Boards; and the Flaghouse 1995 Catalog, pages 38 and 122, relating to Table-Top Quiet Activity Center and Uffwood Activity Package, Shape boards, Geoform Boards, Sorter Puzzles and Giant Lock Memory-Box.
the Phelan '295 patent reference discloses and claims a round robin drawing game board presenting six doors for exposing parts of a drawing underneath for the purpose of instructing young children in drawing parts of the human body. The Kelly '075 patent discloses an image recognition game apparatus and game playing method, utilizing a revealing device having shutters each of which is slidable between open and closed positions incrementally revealing a face card inserted within the device, with the opening of the shutters being determined by movement of game pieces on a gameboard. The Sigle '793 patent discloses a picture identification game apparatus for competitively determining the identity of a partially exposed picture initially concealed with separately identified opaque cover pieces removably secured on to a protective window superimposed in front of the picture to be identified by a group of competing participants. The Jacobs '465 patent discloses a translator device for translating between an understood language and a foreign language, comprising a number of juxtaposed columns with each column slidably receiving a plurality of individual cards, with the columns being organized in a sequential, semantic, or syntactic relationship in order that a language student may select components by sliding up the top card, from two or more columns to effect larger grammatical meanings such as sentences. The back of each preceding card contains the translation of the exposed grammatical structure and is viewed by flipping the translator device over to read the translated material directly.
The Stenstrom '559 reference discloses a compartmented card game box kit with removable drawer, having a bottom divided into separate compartments for a deck of cards, kitty and play money; and a top package having indicia thereon to facilitate its use as a playing board for travel and to serve as a display sales package for the game and its accessories. The Liversidge et al. '455 patent discloses an electical education game device, provided with a housing with an upper face having a number of aperatures, of geometrical, alphabetical, numerical, animal, bird or other shapes, into which matching game pieces can be inserted. Within the housing of the Liversidge device a spring impelled plate, controlled by an adjustable timer is provided to discharge the pieces at the end of a predetermined selected time interval.
The Flack '976 reference represents an example in a very crowded art of devices utilizing peg-board game apparatus and like structure to achieve a game purpose or activity. The Flack device is based on the teaching of providing a unit pair of pegs fitting in the holes of the board and joined by a flexible chord member which acts to limit the ambit of movement of the pegs relative to each other to the distance between alternate holes on a diagonal line. The Johnson design patent '621 discloses an ornamental design for what appears to be a partial peg-board and insertable peg pieces for constituting a hand therapy board. Other similar devices are disclosed in the McAusland design patent '588, Kroll design '441, Kroop et al. design '334, Moradinia design '920 and Shoptaugh design '055; relating, respectively to a board game unit, a child's portable drawing, game and play box, a writing surface and container for supplies, a combined game board and container, and a combined gameboard, game pieces and container therefor.
The Logan design patent '466 and the Wright design '480 relate, respectively, to a combined multi-paneled easel and art display case and a storage box with sliding lids.
The first group of published catalog references (Sammons Preston) relates to a transparent writing/activities table disclosed for use as a blackboard, flannelboard or an adjustable activities table, and describing four grooves for a mirror insert, a plexiglass insert and a rear projection insert. Also disclosed in these catalogs is a depth perception peg board set, an adjustable activity peg board and an activity tray. The Smith & Nephew Rolyan.RTM. 1995 Catalog discloses cognitive-perceptual easel with a positionable peg board and a home activity simulator illustrating common locks, handles, switches and plugs mounted on a plastic form. The Concepts ADL 1995 Catalog illustrates a manipulation board vertically mounted on support legs, and simply having common household locks, latches and water valve mounted on a board to stimulate hand and finger activity and ADL rehabilitation. Also illustrated is a string drawing peg-board and activity boards with telescoping legs and depth-adjustable front legs. The Flaghouse 1995 Catalog illustrates a table-top quiet activity center providing a display board with four (4) different eye-hand-sound activities and a tilting activity package accommodating four drop-in modules: (1) push-button lights and sounds, (2) noisy, bouncing springs, (3) toy electric keyboard and (4) holographic mirror mounted on spinner. Other devices illustrated in this catalog include hand-grip shape boards, hand-grip sorter puzzles, geoform boards having insertable and gripable circle, square, rectangle and triangle pieces, and a giant lock memory box providing on a box various locks to be manipulated and an opening for storage inside the box in three internal compartments when a given lock or latch is successfully negotiated.
None of the references found specifically illustrates or teaches the portable therapy and game case assembly of the present invention. Nor is the present invention obvious in view of any of the prior art references listed. In addition, all of the relevant prior art heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages.
None of the apparently crowded, prior art references teach concepts within a portable, self-contained therapy case assembly unit which structurally coordinate pivotal, dowel-hinged, revealing door members, transparent overlay, removable storage compartments, full and partial removable peg-board members, and hand-therapy shaped door handles and various insertable symbol sheets and separate drop-in inlay sheets; to accomplish functionally the therapeutic and game options of the present invention. Nor do the prior art references address the functional capability of providing the breath and diversity of the therapeutic and game options for testing cognition, hand and eye coordination and sensory-motor skills in one portable, user-friendly case assembly. The prior art references are each bulky and/or structurally limited to one or two testing options; and, in many cases somewhat dangerous, uncomfortable and inefficient or clumsy or awkward to use.
These and other disadvantages, structurally and functionally, of the prior art will become apparent in reviewing the remainder of the present specification, claims and drawings.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a substantially improved and more efficient portable therapy and game case assembly having optionable boards, multiple door panel, partial and total peg board means, white or other-colored dry-erase board and clear-write, on-wipe-off or like board, with a releasable and movable framed, compartmented, internally provided storage area to carry extra slide-in sheets, pencils, eraser, game tokens and other therapeutic or game items, and having a self-contained board with all of its other self-contained features which is adjustable to several appropiate angles and positions.
It is a further object to provide a therapy-to-go, self-contained therapeutic case assembly ahving a panel with multiple pivotable and hinged doors provided with a diverse array of knobs and pullable configurations to test the ability to recognize different grasping skills and prompt various fine motor skills and components. Related to this is the object of the invention in providing different activity sheets which can be slid under the selected doors on the panel to create many memory problems to be solved in a therapeutic or game context, and many ways and combinations in which different and slidable sheet and inlay members, together with the door handles can be used in comparison and in combination with one another to test various association skills.
It is a further object to provide within the same self-contained, portable assembly a sliding peg board which is utilized to improve eye-hand coordination, visual discrimination and fine-motor control, or be utilized with patterns to develop visual and spatial discrimination. An additional advantage of the invention is achieved in having on the opposite side of the case assembly, from the peg board component and door panel and shelf component, a white or differentially colored dry-erase board for use in free hand drawing or writing practice; and, with this sturcture, a clear or transparent plastic insert (or other material) which fits over the white board, with a space in-between, to facilitate sliding in sheets calling for various activities, such as tracing letters and numbers and following a maze or dot-to-dot picture, among other diverse activities and drills or practice to test skills.
It is yet a further object to provide pivotable, dowel-hinged or other pivotable means, with these doors having pulls, knobs and handles which will prompt and require motor skills such as the three-jaw grasp, hook, lateral pinch and tip pinch; and providing for use with the self-contained assembly tokens, markers and eraser for improving in-hand manipulation. An additional advantage and object of the invention is achieved by grading the activities by limiting the number of doors on the panel for use and by selecting a slide-in sheet for use with the therapy assembly from simple to complex.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a diverse therapeutic, self-contained portable case assembly which prompts and tests diverse sensory integration skills, including tactile-proprioceptive-vestibular functions such as postural adjustments and coordinated use of both body sides, and graded motor-planning skills; visual function such as visual scanning to match items, for writing, and for tracing, recognition of different colors, sizes and shapes all within the same self-contained unit assembly, and activities requiring fitting parts, matching, fitting shapes, and differentiating patterns; hearing activities essential to using the diverse functions of the therapy assembly; and cognitive demands, graded in nature, for reading, writing, speaking, and understanding instructions.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a portable therapy case assembly with improved safety factors, such as in reducing the likihood of the danger of cutting, piercing or burning the skin of a user, or of losing control of equipment options causing injury.
Yet an additional object of the present invention is to enhance solitary or interpersonal use and activities; and to address important therapeutic objectives, functionally and structurally, such as physical objectives in refining fine-motor skills; sensory-integrative objectives in improving memory skills, eye-hand coordination, visual and spatial discrimination and attention span; psychosocial objectives in improving self-esteem and interaction skills, reducing anxiety and providing an outlet for self expression; and vocationally related objectives such as increased skills in memory, attention and fine-motor skills.
It will, therefore, be understood that substantial and distinguishable structural and functional advantages are realized in the present invention over the prior art devices and methods.